The safest way to shop online

Remember last week when we talked about the bad stuff that can happen when you send your credit card (or worse, debit card) number over the Internet? Well, it turns out there’s a super-easy (and free!) way to help stop identity thieves from breaking into your accounts. 

The dos and don'ts of preventing online identity theft.

Now if only I knew where to buy leg-warmers in size extra-short.

According to the Chicago Tribune, lots of banks offer one-time use (or “virtual”) credit cards for online shopping.

Here’s how it works: When you’re buying online and are ready to pay, click over to your bank’s Web site to get one of these handy-dandy virtual credit cards. (The feature is called “ShopSafe” at Bank of America, where I bank.) You tell them how much you’re about to spend and when you want to account to expire. They’ll generate a temporary account number that looks just like a real account, with the same number of digits, the expiration date you gave them, and even one of those three-digit security codes. Once you use the virtual credit card, it’s no longer valid. So even if someone gets his dirty little paws on the number, he won’t be able to touch your actual account. Genius!

The Tribune story says these cards have been around for five years, but this is the first I’m hearing of them.

Did you guys know about virtual credit cards? (And why didn’t anyone tell me about them?!) Have you been using them? Will you now?

Related: 10 Purchases to Think Twice About Before Swiping Your Credit (or Debit) Card.

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